Kucoin Review 2024: Features, Fees & More

Deposit & Withdrawal Methods

Does KuCoin accept fiat currency? KuCoin permits purchasing cryptocurrencies with fiat currency, but only through a third-party app. It supports over 70 payment methods, though bank transfers can sometimes be used to deposit funds. And fees can be expensive; you can avoid these fees by depositing directly the cryptocurrencies you purchased on other exchanges onto KuCoin for free.

Additionally, you need to purchase a fixed quantity of one currency promptly. For instance, you could buy $200 worth of the dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT). Then, you could use Tether to purchase other currencies. You could only deposit $200 and invest it at the appropriate time. Other exchanges allow you to deposit funds and decide how and when to expend them.

For withdrawals, you can transfer your coin from KuCoin to another crypto market, sell it, and withdraw your money to your bank account.

KuCoin Fee Structure

KuCoin provides a tiered maker/taker fee structure, with trading fees between 0.005% and 0.1% based on your tier level. The table below outlines KuCoin’s three tiers of cryptocurrency. 

Maker/taker fees decrease as you progress through each tier. You can achieve this by trading or holding more KCS, the KuCoin native token. If you elect to pay in KCS, your fees will be reduced further. The trading fees are competitive compared to other platforms, particularly the most popular cryptocurrencies. 

In addition, you must consider the deposit and withdrawal fees. KuCoin claims it’s free, but only when you deposit cryptocurrency or make a bank transfer. You are frequently charged to deposit fiat (traditional) currency into your account. Withdrawal fees vary by cryptocurrency and blockchain network. Typically, withdrawing cryptocurrency necessitates the payment of a gas fee, the amount of which depends on the blockchain in use.

Trading Experience

KuCoin spot trading has a fixed 0.1% trading fee for both makers and takers. The 30-day trade volume and KuCoin Token holdings will reduce your trading fees.

In November 2019, the Margin Trading service was available for traders to use the crypto coins of other users for leveraged positions. This feature of KuCoin is suitable for both long and short trading positions, as it provides up to 10x leverage.

Previously, the KuCoin futures or contract trading was known as KuMEX. This service enables users to purchase and sell future standard contracts for assets. The buyer orders a digital asset at a specific price and time in the future, and the vendor must deliver the asset at the agreed-upon price and time.

KuCoin supports leverage of up to 100x for margin transactions, enabling the trader to trade contracts with a value greater than the account’s trading funds. BTC and USDT are among the most frequently transacted contracts. Typically, there are two types: Futures Lite and Futures Pro. The former is intended for novice traders, whereas the Pro version is for seasoned traders or professionals.

In addition, KuCoin Peer-to-Peer enables investors to transfer or exchange cryptocurrencies directly from their accounts to other users, bypassing the need for a broker or financial institution.

KuCoin Review – Key Features

KuCoin Trading Bot

Automated trading robots are beneficial for generating passive income regardless of the crypto asset traded on the exchange. KuCoin provides five distinct varieties of trading algorithms, including Spot Grid, DCA, Futures Grid, Infinity Grid, and Smart Rebalance. Five different trading strategies, including classic grid, futures grid, and DCA, are supported by KuCoin’s trading algorithms.

The classic grid is a simple trading strategy for profiting from market fluctuations via selling orders and buying positions. It involves purchasing orders at a lower price and selling them at a higher price. Even if they lack market knowledge, traders can optimize the trading automaton. KuCoin’s trading bots are powered by artificial intelligence, and the grid version is optimal for novices.

The operation of a Futures Grid Bot is comparable to that of a Spot Grid Bot, as both can generate passive income by buying low and selling high. However, Futures Grid has distinctive characteristics that can help investors increase their profits.

Smart Rebalance can aid investors in increasing their returns. The essence of this strategy is to increase the total number of holdings while maintaining the predetermined percentage of the portfolio. Assuming you want to allocate 40% of your funds to BTC, 30% to ETH, and 30% to KCS, your portfolio will fluctuate with the value of these tokens if you hold them. The Smart Rebalance Tool will rebalance the proportion based on your preferences if it deviates from the initial parameters.

DCA algorithm, also known as Dollar Cost Averaging, is optimal for professional traders who purchase cryptocurrencies daily because of its repetitive strategy. All KuCoin algorithms conduct a technical analysis to reduce trading risks.

The infinity grid prevents “missing out” on the cryptocurrency surge. Unlike Spot Grid Bot, which places orders with a fixed number, Infinity Grid Bot places orders based on a percentage with no upper limit.

KuCoin Earn

KuCoin Earn is a platform for wealth management services that enable users to generate passive income. Currently, it supports over 50 assets and offers a variety of products, including Savings, Staking, Flexible Staking Promotion, and Fixed Staking Promotion, among others.

KuCoin Savings is similar to bank savings in that it permits you to deposit assets and earn a reasonable quantity of rewards. This adaptable scheme allows you to subscribe and withdraw funds at any time. Savings enables your cryptocurrency to generate a stable daily profit. For example, USDT savings allow you to earn an APR between 5% and 8%. 

Staking is securing your digital assets on a Proof of Stake blockchain for a specified time. In addition to contributing to the network, this earns you staking rewards. You can, for instance, stake ETH to make 47% APR or KSM to get 10% APR.

The KuCoin Promotions product offers higher returns than typical Savings and Staking. Users can redeem their funds at any time for Flexible term products. At maturity, the funds for fixed-term products will be automatically returned to the investor’s account. 

KuCoin App

KuCoin was one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges to offer a mobile application with complete functionality. With over 5 million downloads, the KuCoin app for Android and iOS mobile devices is popular.

The app has a 4.4 out of 5 average rating on Google Play and a 4.5 average rating on the App Store. The web version defaults to a light mode, whereas the mobile app defaults to a dark mode.

Home, Markets, Trade, Derivatives, and Assets will appear at the bottom of KuCoin on the mobile screen (for iOS), while on the desktop version, the menu will appear differently.

Some find the mobile version of KuCoin overwhelming due to its abundance of information. Beginners may find the desktop version more suitable for getting started in crypto.

Ventures & Labs

KuCoin Ventures is a new initiative launched by KuCoin to grow and develop the cryptocurrency industry. Initiated in 2021, it has attracted over 200 foundations and investment institutions. In addition, KuCoin Ventures has successfully invested in over 50 blockchain companies through 2022.

KuCoin Labs is an incubator and research organization that invests in digital initiatives spanning Web 3.0, GameFi, and other categories. It invested approximately $15 million in over 30 cryptocurrency-based initiatives and three blockchain funds in 2022.

Additionally, it has increased its influence by sponsoring multiple blockchain summits in the Middle East, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America.

In addition, KuCoin Labs has established beneficial partnerships with over 800 initiatives in 2022. KuCoin Labs recently announced that it would launch The Astro Selection, a long-term incubation program, in December 2022. The program seeks to promote the crypto industry’s sustainable development and encourage the expansion of the NFT, Blockchain gaming, and Metaverse industries.

KuCoin KCC

KCC, or KuCoin Community Chain, was created by KuCoin and KCS enthusiasts. In 2022, the number of projects deployed or integrated on the KCC platform increased significantly, including NFT, GameFi, DeFi, Web 3.0 infrastructure, etc.

Midway through 2022, KCC’s on-chain addresses grew by over 500% to nearly 600,000 by December. The Community Chain also announced an ecosystem incentive program with up to $50 million, the KCC Unicorn Contest, which attracted over 100 projects, of which over 40 were effectively deployed on the KuCoin Community Chain.

Affiliate Program

KuCoin has an attractive affiliate program, allowing each associate to earn up to 50% commission on transaction fees. There are currently over 16,000 affiliates in 140 countries. 

Unique features of the affiliate program include

• a high commission rate,
• transfer and referral system,
• second-tier commissions, and
• premium brand features.

When their peers sign up for the KuCoin Affiliate Program, KuCoin affiliates earn commissions.

KuCoin Security Feature

KuCoin has partnered with Onchain Custodian to safeguard the cryptocurrency assets held on its exchange. This includes Lockton insurance against crimes such as cybercrime. In addition, it has a bug bounty program to incentivize ethical hackers to report system vulnerabilities.

KuCoin encourages users to establish two-factor authentication and a supplementary trading password. You can configure security phrases to protect you from fraudulent attacks.

KuCoin asserts that client assets are stored offline in cold storage (which makes it harder to hack). However, it needs to be clarified what percentage of data is retained inactive. It must keep some funds online in hot wallets so that customers can make withdrawals and trades, but it would be helpful to know what proportion is stored where.

Several KuCoin hot wallets were compromised at the end of 2020, and insurance covered the losses entirely. The company was also fast to act and transparent about the incident.

Warning: 

First, whether the insurance policy covers your assets needs to be clarified in case of a business failure. If your bank fails, the FDIC insurance typically covers losses up to $250,000. The opposite is true of cryptocurrency exchanges.

If you reside in the United States, additional hazards are associated with using an unregulated exchange. The government is cracking down on Americans who use unlicensed services to prevent money laundering and tax evasion. If you use an unregulated exchange, you risk having your account blocked and unable to access your cryptocurrency.

KuCoin Customer Support

KuCoin provides adequate customer service due to its diverse support mechanisms. Typically, users can discover their answers in KuCoin’s extensive FAQ. If the question can only be answered by KuCoin staff, users must submit a form, engage in a live conversation, or post a question in a forum with other users.

The contact form is intended to limit the support request, suggest a Frequently Asked Questions topic, and, if necessary, connect the user with the appropriate support staff. Similarly, the instant conversation begins with the user interacting with a support bot; a human is only connected if the computer cannot answer the question.

However, KuCoin receives generally low ratings from its users, and its average rating on Trustpilot is only 1.5 stars out of 5. Several negative reviews cite issues with customer service, the withdrawal procedure, and depositing funds. Others accuse KuCoin of market manipulation and claim their assets mysteriously vanished from their accounts, which is particularly troubling.

Who Should Use KuCoin?

The KuCoin exchange is also suitable for more experienced traders due to the abundance of tools for analyzing price trends, such as candlestick bars. However, KuCoin’s average trading volume is in the tens of millions, significantly less than larger exchanges such as Binance and CoinSpot (You can read our CoinSpot review to learn more about its features).

This could be problematic, as low trading volumes occasionally indicate a need for more liquidity. It should be fine if you are trading small amounts, but if you are seeking to exchange huge quantities, KuCoin may not be the ideal exchange for you.

Ultimately, when new cryptocurrencies are initially introduced, they are sometimes only listed on a single exchange. You will be compelled to use their services if your desired cryptocurrency is only listed on KuCoin.

KuCoin FAQs

Does KuCoin offer a native token?

KuCoin offers its cryptocurrency, the KuCoin Token (KCS), which is an ERC-20 token that operates on the Ethereum network. The ownership of KCS entitles KuCoin users to reduced trading fees and a “daily incentive” reward. Users must possess at least six KCS tokens to qualify.

Does KuCoin support margin trading?

KuCoin is one of the few exchanges where U.S. citizens can create a crypto margin account. This hazardous investment strategy permits users to borrow funds to increase their returns and potential losses, so it should be for crypto investors with extensive experience.

Does KuCoin support crypto lending?

KuCoin enables users to lend their cryptocurrency holdings to prospective margin traders. Interest rates and term durations vary depending on the coin. Although the loans are secured, and the recipient must maintain a minimum balance, price fluctuations may result in unanticipated losses. The platform’s terms state that KuCoin is not obligated to cover all losses.

Is Kucoin legit?

Kucoin was established in 2017, and it currently supports over 200 countries. It also employs multiple security measures to safeguard your assets. Some of these measures include multi-factor authentication, regular penetration testing, stringent access control, and round-the-clock monitoring.

Is Kucoin trustworthy?

We evaluate the trustworthiness of businesses based on their Better Business Bureau profiles, but Kucoin does not presently have a BBB profile. Even though Kucoin does not have a BBB profile, it is essential to conduct an extensive investigation before opening an account with any investment platform. Kucoin suffered a breach in 2021 that cost millions of dollars.

Final Verdict

KuCoin may be a good option for crypto traders with over 600 cryptocurrencies, numerous markets, and 0.1% trading fees. However, it is not optimal for crypto novices, as navigating without prior knowledge can be difficult. In addition, no Live Chat support is available to assist with issues.

Additionally, the fees associated with purchasing cryptocurrencies directly on KuCoin range from 3-12%, which is astronomical. Second, you cannot sell your cryptocurrency on KuCoin for fiat currency or withdraw AUD from the exchange. This is a significant obstacle for crypto investors wishing to convert their profits to fiat currency.

CoinSpot is the exchange that we recommend for crypto novices. Alternatively, please refer to our article on the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia. There you will discover a crypto platform that meets your requirements.